Went North over the Holiday to work on the place and finish my theft list from the robbery. Still pretty PO-ed'
The weather was Clear Hot and Calm, So.....
We decided on a little Bobber fishing. It was like attack of the killer Blue Gills! They were on fire. A bobber, split shot and a worm. Couldn't have gotten any more basic. We fished Pads and some sunken timber. Stopped at 75 keepers Cause that's where the limit made us stop. Fish were 8 inches and above, Caught a few nice Bulls over 10 inches. Drank a bunch of beers cleaning up for that fish fry.

So this lady goes into a tackle shop to buy her grandson a fishing combo for his birthday but she knows nothing about fishing so she grabs this rod and goes up to the counter behind the counter was this gentleman with dark glasses on and she asked about the rod and reel she had he told her he was sorry but he was blind but if she dropped it on the counter he could tell her what it was by the sound it made she was a little skeptical but she dropped it down he told her it was a6'6"graphite shakesphere rod with a zebco reel on it with10lb line and it was on sale for 20$ she was amazed and said ill take it when she was reaching inside her purse her credit card fell on the floor as she bent down to pick it up she FARTED embarrassed she thought he won't know it was me that did it because he was blind he rang her up and said that'll be $ 34.50 she said I thought you said the combo was on sale for 20$ he said it I s but it's 4.50 for the duck call and 10 bucks for the bear repellant just say in😀

Managed to get out for some stream trout this afternoon way up on the South Branch of the Boardman River, which runs through the small town of South Boardman, MI. Rod of choice was a 7' ultralite rig with an old Garcia Mitchell 308 reel flicking "00" sized Mepps Spinners (single hook fly style). Silver blade with brown squirrel tail was the "go to" color today, although most times they strike at almost anything. The strain of fish in this stretch of river date back to almost 120 years of natural reproduction, and possibly even longer!

This water is so brushy and tight in most places that your lure only has about 5 to 10 seconds of "water time" before you have to get it out and toss again. Half of the time you are able to land the lure in the water, the other half of the time you are in the trees...par for the course! Typical distance for a cast is about 12 feet, so you are right on top of the fish and stealth is paramount. Once in a while there is a large enough clearing that you can actually make a full cast. Superb habitat, and just enough water volume for a fish to keep it's skin wet. Managed to catch 6 fish. Also missed another half dozen strikes. The trout come out of cover like a lightning bolt and sometimes your lure is not able to stay in play long enough for a decent "take".

These are small fish, but their personalities, spunk and magnificent coloration make them worthy of pursuit. The wooded surroundings are not too hard on the eyes either! Halfway through the wade I startled a deer from an afternoon nap in the tall stream side grasses, and when it stood up it shocked me as well and I nearly tripped on a submerged log! That would have been very funny, but without anybody around to see it you'll just have to take my word on it!

In conclusion I am including a "chalk art" pickerel, which I thought might give you a little chuckle. We take care of our 3 year old grand daughter one day each week and right now she loves to doodle on the driveway. As her "fishing Papa", this provides an easy opportunity for me to continue introducing her to fishing by way of something she already enjoys. We are looking forward to taking her camping and fishing later this Summer.